


side by side looking at the moon

by uwuxuxi



Series: a city of magic [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Boys In Love, Developing Relationship, Huang Ren Jun-centric, M/M, Making Out, Mentioned Wong Kun Hang | Hendery, Mentioned Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Soulmates, Witch Huang Ren Jun, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:16:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27028711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uwuxuxi/pseuds/uwuxuxi
Summary: renjun sits on his fire escape and looks up at the clear black sky above him as he shuffles his tarot cards absently in his small hands. he can see the international space station where it sits in the sky by the moon, but no stars. not that he’s ever seen stars in new york city; he’s never expected to, really, but when he looks up at the sky, he feels a distinct sense of loneliness fall over him.or, huang renjun, a little witch in new york city, finds his soulmate under the moonlight.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Osaki Shotaro
Series: a city of magic [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972615
Comments: 6
Kudos: 77





	side by side looking at the moon

**Author's Note:**

> i know shotaro just got here but i also am in love with how he entered nct and immediately started shooting his shot with renjun. me too, kiddo, me too.  
> title from un village by baekhyun

renjun sits on his fire escape and looks up at the clear black sky above him as he shuffles his tarot cards absently in his small hands. he can see the international space station where it sits in the sky by the moon, but no stars. not that he’s  _ ever _ seen stars in new york city; he’s never  _ expected _ to, really, but when he looks up at the sky, he feels a distinct sense of loneliness fall over him. 

the moon in the sky is not quite full, perhaps a waxing gibbous, but it’s still bright enough to cast light on renjun’s work. if he strains his ears to hear past the bustle of new york city beneath him, he can hear xuxi and kunhang playing video games in the living room and bella barking to include herself in their play. it’s a familiar sound, one that’s been their norm for years at this point.

the loneliness doesn’t go away.

there’s a distinct metallic creaking that draws renjun’s gaze down from the moon and he’s not surprised to see shotaro’s soft brown hair making his way up the steps of the fire escape. shotaro lives a few floors down with his parents in a quiet household, the complete opposite of the insanity and disorder that colors his apartment with xuxi and kunhang. renjun wonders, absently, if shotaro has a sixth sense to know whenever renjun needs affirmations of how much he’s cared for during a crisis. not that renjun is really having a crisis, persay, but he feels out of sorts and that counts for something.

“can i keep you company?” shotaro asks in his soft voice, leaning against the bottom of renjun’s fire escape. renjun knows he’ll go if renjun says ‘no’; he’ll never impose because he’s nice like that. however; renjun also knows that shotaro is fully aware that renjun will never reject him. 

“of course,” renjun cuts his deck and looks at the card revealed in his right hand. he is not surprised to find the two of cups in all its homoerotic glory staring up at him. it likes to show up every time shotaro does, and renjun really wants his deck to stop being so goddamn  _ loud  _ all the time. “want me to draw a card for you?”

shotaro reaches for the two of cups and holds it up so it is bathed in the moonlight. he’s quiet for a moment while he makes sense of the image — gilgamesh and enkidu in a close embrace with their foreheads touching — before he hands it back. “i think your deck did it for you,” he says and smiles that sweet smile that always makes butterflies swarm in renjun’s stomach. shotaro is so devastatingly charming all the time and renjun would like a break from it just once in his life. “does it mean what i think it means?”

renjun flushes and starts to reshuffle his cards. “if you think it means a romantic connection and some real gay shit, yeah, it does.” the two of cups is fondly referred to as the ‘hookup card’ by many in the tarot community and its appearance coinciding with shotaro’s is very tongue in cheek of his deck. his cards have never pulled their punches with their readings and he shouldn’t expect them to stop now just because he’s shy and likes a boy. he still  _ wants  _ them to, though.

“what  _ kind _ of gay shit?” shotaro presses, sitting next to renjun and tilting his head up towards the sky. in the light of the waxing moon, renjun can see a warm flush color his full cheeks. at least he’s not the only one embarrassed by the devastating read his cards just pulled on them. 

“romantic gay shit. coming together, domestic unity, stuff like that.” renjun sets his cards down on their velvet bag, holding them down with his hand as a breeze blows. they’re made of a sturdy cardstock, but renjun is not willing to risk losing them. “the moon is bright tonight,” he adds, tipping his head up to mirror shotaro’s own pose. “but there’s no stars.”

“there are never stars,” shotaro breathes, eyes glued to the bright moon. there is a gentle sort of disappointment that colors his tone and renjun feels that in his bones. “do you know how much longer until the full moon?” 

renjun considers how full the moon is, head tilting slightly to the side. “it looks about 95% percent full, so probably in a day or two?”

“it’s amazing how you can do that,” he laughs softly, his pinky finger resting just a hair away from renjun’s. “like, how do you just look at the moon and know what phase it’s in or what the percentage of fullness is?”

“it’s a skill like any other. you hone it until it comes as naturally as breathing.” renjun links their pinkies and brings shotaro’s hand along for the ride when he puts his cards away in their bag. he reaches back into his room with his free hand to set the bag in his windowsill on the selenite charging pad there. “have you seen the stars before? like,  _ really _ seen the stars?”

it’s a tactless deflection away from renjun and his skills and even beyond that a deflection away from the card that had made itself known. he’s not sure whether or not shotaro is taking the bait or pocketing the information away for a later interrogation when he shakes his head. 

“we don’t leave the city much,” shotaro admits, and links their ring fingers together. “i think my parents are horribly against the suburbs.”

“they should be.” all three huangs in apartment 7d hate the suburbs with a violent passion, but they take hikes upstate or with their family in connecticut whenever xuxi wants to and they will be heading to the orchards in jersey that weekend for apples, pumpkins, and as many apple cider donuts xuxi’s long ass arms can carry. “weird question, have you ever been apple picking?”

“no, are you inviting me?” shotaro’s voice is a gentle tease and he links their middle fingers. he will not take any more fingers and renjun rolls his eyes and links their index fingers as well. it is not a full hand hold, but it is enough with their eyes both turned up to the dark sky. a thin cloud passes over the moon, swathing them in momentary darkness. it’s comfortable, even romantic.

kunhang is going to  _ laugh _ at him. “yeah. we’re going on saturday, if you can come. i don’t know if you have plans––” 

“i don’t.” even if he did, renjun is almost positive that shotaro would rearrange them to go with renjun’s family anyway.

“then you’re more than welcome to join us. i think xuxi’s bringing his boyfriend.” or rather, xuxi’s boyfriend of the month. his oldest brother has commitment issues, as dictated by his aquarius sun, but he seems very fond of his new partner. mark seems nice, anyway, if a little shy.

belatedly, renjun realizes that he implied that shotaro would be joining him in a similar capacity but he doesn’t mind that.

shotaro picks up the implication renjun puts down and squeezes his hand, dark eyes turning away from the sky to take in the way the moonlight reflects on the powder blue of renjun’s hair. it looks like the city moonlight, just fluffy and tangible, but shotaro doesn’t give in to the temptation to touch it. not yet at least. “are you asking me on a date, renjun?”

“are you  _ accepting _ , shotaro? after all, the cards did say a romantic connection was coming your way.” 

they’ve never talked about this thing between them – this dance of touches, of kisses stolen in hallways, and renjun crawling through shotaro’s window in the dead of night to straddle his lap and  _ feel _ his hands slide up his back and through his hair – but renjun knows that romance is not something that’s coming for shotaro, but has been in the cards all along. they should talk about it. 

they won’t. not when shotaro’s lips meet renjun’s and his hand gently cradles his cheek to pull him in closer. not when what they have is so comfortable and perfect without a title. not when the only things that exist when their lips meet are themselves, the fire escape and a sky full of stars they can’t see. 

as renjun’s tongue slips into shotaro’s mouth and licks lightly over his teeth, he catches the faint taste of the watermelon toothpaste he favors and something more subtle and...floral. it’s a familiar brew of valerian, lavender, and vanilla tea, one that renjun uses on nights he can’t sleep and typically charges under the light of the full moon. 

there is a soulmate theory that comes to mind as renjun swings his leg over shotaro’s lap and licks deeper into his mouth to chase the taste of the sleep draft tea with shotaro’s hands burning on his slim hips. a person has more than one soulmate and spends much of their life – or past and future lives – searching across the world as they know it to find them all. they recognize each of them immediately, though what soulmate they are is not immediately clear. renjun knows that lee jeno is his soulmate, for example. warm, strong lee jeno who is like a rock and supports renjun without complaint and bears the weight of every breakdown renjun has had throughout the years of their friendship without a single complaint. they love each other fiercely, but it is not romantic nor will it ever be. 

what renjun felt the moment he saw shotaro leaning on his family’s fire escape two summers ago when the huangs were moving in, xuxi and kunhang’s arms filled with boxes, was entirely different than when he met jeno. the initial feeling was the same, a surge of emotion that can only be explained with _oh, there you are,_ _i know you_ , but the depth with which that emotion hit renjun was wholly different. shotaro’s gentle eyesmile and the ramune held between his fingers felt like something renjun had been missing for his entire life and something clicked into place when their eyes met. _i missed you_ , renjun’s soul cried out and he can feel shotaro’s call out in response, _i missed you, too_.

he pulled his tarot cards out from their bag the very moment his room was set up enough to be considered livable and started to shuffle them with a vengeance. he’d watched with sharp eyes as card after card jumped out and exhaled sharply as he placed them into a five card reading. the reading is immortalized in his tarot journal and spoke of new beginnings, fate, and, funnily enough, romance with the two of cups.

the two of cups made itself present from the very beginning of their relationship and with shotaro’s teeth pulling gently on his bottom lip, renjun is comfortable with its reappearance. renjun breaks the kiss, pressing their foreheads together and inhaling slowly as shotaro’s thumb strokes a gentle circle on his cheekbone. the air around them is warm for the crisp fall night and renjun is hot from the firm grip shotaro has around his waist. there is a gentle magic in the air while they embrace beneath the moon and shotaro presses soft kisses to his lips as they smile at one another. 

“you didn’t answer my question, taro,” renjun whispers as a car alarm goes off down the street and bella barks in response inside the apartment. “are you accepting my invitation to go on a date?” 

shotaro laughs at that and rubs slow circles into renjun’s lower back as he kisses him again. he distracts himself with that for another moments, sliding their lips together leisurely while renjun locks his ankles behind his back. “yeah, i’m accepting. do you know how long i’ve been waiting for you to call anything we do a  _ date _ ?” he’s got a point there, but renjun is a proud creature who is quite possibly allergic to admitting that he’s wrong in any circumstance.

“labels are for people without magic.” before shotaro can complain that  _ he _ doesn’t have magic, renjun silences him with a kiss and tugs playfully on his lower lip with his teeth. “you are filled with magic, shotaro. the magic of a starless sky which is almost more beautiful than one filled with the stars because without them, all i can look at is the radiance of the moon.”

shotaro blushes under renjun’s gaze but does not try to distract him again. he wraps his arms around his waist to pull him closer and nuzzle his face into the long column of renjun’s neck. “when did you become a poet, huang renjun?” he asks into the pale skin there before pressing the most delicate of kisses into his pulse point. 

“when i finally let myself fall in love with you, osaki shotaro.” and oh, how  _ nice _ it is to finally allow himself to say those words. he’s loved shotaro since he met him and they spent the first of many nights on the fire escape looking out at their part of the city with music playing from the tinny speakers of renjun’s iphone. those first nights proved to renjun that shotaro fit perfectly into a hole renjun had not been aware he had in his life and every night after made renjun fall more in love with shotaro and the light that poured from his aura like milk into coffee. 

“how long have you loved me?” shotaro whispers into his throat and renjun feels the whisper of his lashes against his skin as shotaro moves his head to kiss over the expanse of skin before him. 

“since the moment i first saw you; you were always meant to be mine.” distant sirens fill the silence after that and renjun positively squeals as shotaro presses a wet kiss to his adam’s apple. “ _ taro _ ! stop it!”

“i knew you were always meant to be mine, too, you know. i don’t...have the magical certainty you have but i knew it, too. i took one look at you and the soft pink of your hair and knew that you were going to change my life forever.” shotaro looks up at renjun and smiles warmly as the moonlight shines through renjun’s soft hair. 

a breeze ruffles the strands and renjun shivers slightly before he worms his way deeper into shotaro’s arms for warmth. it is nothing for shotaro to tighten his arms around him and keep him close, lips ghosting over the crown of his head. “we should go inside,” he whispers and slides his hands down renjun’s back to heft him up. he’s not surprised when renjun complains but his window  _ is _ right there and only a small amount of coaxing gets renjun to crawl inside for shotaro to follow shortly after. xuxi and kunhang are still playing games in the living room but bella seems to have tired herself out for the night and renjun, to drown out his brothers’ shouting, puts on his favorite lo-fi playlist. 

“do you want more tea?” he asks, opening one of the drawers on his altar to pull out his jar of the sleeping draft and shake it in shotaro’s direction. when shotaro ‘ _ hm _ ’s in response, renjun presses a button on his electric kettle and measures out the tea leaves and flowers into the teapot. 

“come sit with me,” shotaro complains when renjun is too far away for too long, pouting just so until renjun settles between his legs, back resting against his chest. “you’re amazing.”

“i’m just making  _ tea _ , shotaro.”

“you’re making a magical tea that will give us both sweet dreams.  _ that’s _ amazing.” and what’s renjun to do? disagree with such a wonderful compliment? not on apollo’s sun kissed earth. shotaro presses fleeting kisses over whatever parts of renjun he can reach as they wait for the kettle to beep, lingering behind his ear to press his lips tenderly to the aries constellation tattoo hidden there. 

after shotaro — with the utmost reluctance — lets renjun go long enough to actually make their tea, they sit against renjun’s headboard to drink it in between kisses. perhaps they should talk about the confessions shared under the light of the moon, discuss where they stand now that their relationship has changed from something nameless to a relationship with a big ‘r’ but they can do that tomorrow after the sun rises and renjun makes his offerings at his altar.

when their tea is done and renjun’s head is pillowed on shotaro’s chest with his lips pressed to the top of his head, renjun forgets all about what should be done and simply loses himself in the comfort wrapped around him and the sounds of the city just outside of his cracked window. 

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/faeriedoyoung)   
>  [cc](https://curiouscat.me/faeriedoyoung)


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